Love, Joy, Hope

We had just shifted house and after a big few months involving shifting and surgery … a mountain escape (even for a night) seemed like just what the doctor ordered. So I found a camping spot that ticked all the boxes…the photos on the campsite’s website looked amazing…a bubbling stream right next to the camping ground…secluded camping spots surrounded by forest…camp fire pits and it wasn’t too far to travel after the end of a busy week. So I booked and paid for our spot and got packing!

The day arrived and all five of us got in the car excitedly…so excited to have our little mountain escape dreams becoming a reality. We were dreaming of roasting marshmallows, swimming in the creek by the campsite and enjoying the great outdoors. When we arrived at the campsite all was well and we were handed a makeshift map to direct us to our site. As we headed onto the dirt track it quickly became apparent that this is not quite what we had in mind.

The bubbling stream turned out to be a man made stream powered by a pump with unsightly pipes sticking out, our campsite was next to a pump house that loudly worked overtime drumming over the bush surrounds, there was a construction site about 25 meters away with diggers and bob cats busily making new camp sites, our camp spot was covered in broken glass and we saw a snake!! Dan and I looked at each other and we all got back into the car and drove off!

At this point, all I could do was smile, laugh and think, “That campsite was so bad and so far from what we had imagined that God must have something better up his sleeve for us!” So we got talking to the boys and explaining that God has an adventure for us this afternoon! So off we drove with no destination in mind but to see where we could find to camp before the sun went down!

We kept driving and driving through the most spectacular scenery. This country girl was loving being out of the city, enjoying the time together as a family and seeing what God had for us. I knew whatever God had for us would be amazing. I knew that as God’s beloved children He wanted to teach us something about Himself and show us more of His splendor. To cut a long story short we happened upon one of the most amazing campsites at Binna Burra Mountain Lodge. It came complete with amazing bush walks, spectacular views and a pizza cafe right a short walk away in the middle of the rain forest!

I was amazed by God’s love for us in preparing the most spectacular place for us to stay. We experienced the beauty of God’s creation and were amazed once more by His beauty far away from traffic, deadlines and noise. We sat as the sun went down on another day and our eyes were opened to His whispers of love, grace, joy and peace a midst all circumstances of life. He spoke again of His rest that restores our soul. He taught me again that when our plans get interrupted He has another way, another path for us to take and that is always so much better!

“Look who’s here: Mountain-Shaper! Wind-Maker!He laid out the whole plot before Adam.He brings everything out of nothing,like dawn out of darkness.He strides across the alpine ridges.His name is God, God-of-the-Angel-Armies.” Amos 4:13

If there is one thing that can stop our little family its gastro. Starting on the Friday night before Christmas (at Dan’s birthday dinner) Jack vomited uncontrollably. As I wiped the river of vomit off my arms and legs with napkins, I mouthed a “sorry” to the horrified diners at the table next to us who were saying to each other, “He is still going!” as they gathered their things and left.

Fast-forward a few days later and Jack is still vomiting and needed a trip to hospital. We spent the next few days recovering and then on Christmas Eve it was Dan’s turn. We were officially in quarantine from family Christmas not wanting to pass on this dreaded bug. Then Byron, then Noah and hopefully not me!

Its been an interesting experience being quarantined from family gatherings and catching up with friends at Christmas and now New Years. We have gone slow, eaten lots of toast, drank lots of juice, watched hours of tv, read books, washed, washed and washed mounds of towels and totally stopped.

I am looking forward to this bug being gone from our family but in the meantime we are our own gastro-island and we are learning to stop and go slow.

Byron turned three a few weeks ago and after much deliberation on a party theme…it was all systems go for an Octonauts party! Byron LOVES the Octonauts cartoon and as the show is set under the ocean…a wet and watery party was planned.